Only Stunned
by Part of the Queue
Summary: Ross Jenkins was the Doctor's soldier friend, killed by the Sontarans in the Poison Sky. No, this is wrong. He was only stunned. This is what happened to him after he was shot.


There is nothing

There is nothing. Nothing but black and cold and emptiness reaching out, trying to ensnare you.

Then there is fire. A single point of fire to your left, which abruptly becomes all you know. Your body is burning.

As quickly as it came, it shrinks, condenses. The pain is worse, but only affects your left side. Everywhere else just aches. You take a deep breath with lungs you are suddenly aware of having. You take another, breathing deep as the outside world penetrates your senses.

You are lying on your side on the floor, a wall against your back. You can't hear anything but vague echoes of loud noises in distant places, and when you open your eyes you are blinded for a few moments by the light. There is a gun near your hand, and a red cloth by your head, and your memories come back in a rush that makes you gasp. You are Ross Jenkins, you work for UNIT, and the building you are in is currently under invasion by a hostile alien force. Or at least, it was when you were shot. The fact that no one has found you yet either means you haven't been unconscious long, or that the invaders were successful. The latter is not an option.

You roll onto your front and push yourself up with your good arm, groaning as you lean against the wall. The ache persists, but you stubbornly grab the red cloth and put the beret on one handed. You clip your gun to the front of your tac-vest and crawl over to your men.

All four are dead. You bow your head for a moment, before double-checking, just in case. You were right the first time, and when you pull back the collar of Sampson's shirt to check his pulse, you see the burn mark on his chest.

You shake your head to clear it. You can grieve later, but right now you have to find out what exactly is going on. You try your radio, but it must have been fried. You wince as you balance your left arm on the top of your gun. The Sontaran's have made it useless, so you may as well use it as a sling. You use a nearby fire extinguisher to haul yourself to your feet and you stagger down the corridor, leaning heavily on the wall. The distant echoes have stopped, but you're not sure if this is a good sign or not. You find a room with a window, stumble across and pull back the curtain.

The sky is on fire.

Actually on fire. What was blue is now full of flames. You have a feeling that going outside right now may not be the best idea. Leaning forwards and looking up you see a small patch of blue, and the corner of what can only be the Valiant.

You are about to turn away, when the flames ripple. Ripple and retreat. The sky clears and turns blue again. You know it is the Doctor and smile.

You leave the room again, leaning heavily on the wall, and return to the bodies of your men. Your knees give out as you reach them, and you sink down to sit against the wall. The blackness encroaches on your vision again as the aches intensify. You give into pain and exhaustion and allow yourself to slip into oblivion.

--

You wake to voices but don't open your eyes. You sense someone crouching in front of you; they put their hand on your uninjured shoulder.

"Oh Ross. I'm sorry".

_Doctor_. The hand moves to your cheek and you force your eyes open. "Doctor" you manage to whisper.

He looks shocked. Shocked that you survived, you think that you should be slightly insulted by that, then you remember your men, and then all thought is driven out of your head as the Doctor grabs you by both shoulders. You think you may have screamed a little, but you black out for a minute. When you come back you are leaning against the Doctor, and he is rubbing your back, being sure to avoid your shoulder.

Another soldier brings over a bottle of water, and the Doctor leans you against the wall again and helps you drink. Your hands are shaking. You look him in the eye; he is frowning with concern. "The sky. It was on fire." Your voice is stronger now.

His face brightens. "Ah yes, terraforming. The Sontarans were changing the atmosphere so they could live here. Of course it would have been poisonous to everyone else, but I terraformed it back using one of those inventions of Luke's". The frown returned, "Luke saved the day in the end. Sacrificed himself to destroy the Sontarans".

You both look up as a couple of medics arrive with a stretcher. You pull a face but don't complain as they remove your gun and tac vest and help you move onto the stretcher. The Doctor hovers over you for a moment, squeezes your good arm reassuringly and smiles.

"I'm glad you're alright, Ross. I'll see you later".

You smile back, and allow your eyes to close again, feeling safe for the first time today. The Doctor has fixed the sky. He can take care of the rest.


End file.
